It all started when I started up my pc and discovered that all my documents including family photos had vanished. Then the start menu stopped working (I kept getting nonsensical messages about shortcuts when trying to find stuff)

Thankfully I found Ubunto and installed that in my partitioned hard-drive.

I think I have now found a new forum to hang out in since my Linux using friends sent me here rather than leaving me to post my questions on Facebook ..lol

Quick question.....I am considering buying a re-conditioned pc only all the ones I have seen have a WIN OS pre-installed. Can I then install a linux based OS and go back and delete WIN as I think it was something on WIN that messed up my current PC?

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YES you can set up a dual booter, THEN remove Windows if you like .. but there's no real harm in leaving Windows on too, nothing from the Windows partition is going to affect the Linux partition .. Windows can't read Linux partitions

Linux on the other hand CAN read the Windows partition.

Which effectively means Ubuntu will be able to read/write to the Windows partition, but any Windows malware will be unaware of the Linux partition.

If the purpose of installing Linux BEFORE removing windows is to check it all works with the hardware properly, booting a LiveCD/LiveUSB will usually give you a good idea

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« Last Edit: May 20, 2013, 09:39:05 am by Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) »

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I'm not very tech savvy (yet) and was concerned that if WIN went wrong on another pc that might affect everything else I was doing.

I installed Ubuntu using a disc so didn't have to know how to partition the hard drive...Ubuntu was very user friendly in that respect.

I have now been put right off WIN as it seemed to eat my stuff increasingly up until a week or so when it refused to start up at all. I was glad I had installed another OS because without the second option I would have been without any internet access.

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When you say you installed Ubuntu on your partitioned hard drive I assume you set it up as a dual boot which means your Windows installation is still intact and visible to Ubuntu, in which case it may still be possible to recover your documents/family photos etc via Ubuntu, as Mark pointed out Linux can read Windows partitions.

It sounds like there's a strong possibility your Windows installation has a virus of some sort which means if you want to keep Windows you're gonna have to sort that out or completely wipe Windows and re-instal from scratch (assuming you have a Windows installation disc and activation key), but also bear in mind Windows XP is reaching end of life in less than year from now anyway which will render it even more vulnerable than it is now to viruses etc (something you'll never have to worry about with Linux)

So unless there is some mission critical software you need that is only available in Windows there is no reason Ubuntu (or some other Linux distribution) can't fulfil all your computing needs, it's designed to be user friendly and easy for people migrating over from Windows, as with all things new there is a learning curve but you'll find many clever people on here that will be only too happy to help you with any problems you come up against.

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Quick question.....I am considering buying a re-conditioned pc only all the ones I have seen have a WIN OS pre-installed. Can I then install a linux based OS and go back and delete WIN as I think it was something on WIN that messed up my current PC?

Yes you can do that, however beware, new PC's that come pre-installed with Windows 8 also have the new UEFI bootloader which can be problematic so if you do decide to go down that road it would be a good idea to ask on here first before you purchase anything.

Good luck

Graeme

« Last Edit: May 20, 2013, 02:20:10 pm by Emegra »

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I had heard about the support ending for WIN XP so I have been looking on-line for reconditioned desk tops with WIN 7 installed this time.

My WIN XP won't start up at all so I can't get to the start menu to wipe it out from there. I tried Windows support but they only had instructions for people who could start up the OS and get to their start menu, which I can't.

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My WIN XP won't start up at all so I can't get to the start menu to wipe it out from there. I tried Windows support but they only had instructions for people who could start up the OS and get to their start menu, which I can't.

What are you trying to do in Windows ? .. fix it, erase it, or copy docs across to Linux ?

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My WIN XP won't start up at all so I can't get to the start menu to wipe it out from there. I tried Windows support but they only had instructions for people who could start up the OS and get to their start menu, which I can't.

You don't need to start up Windows to erase it or access and recover any files you still have on it, you can do that from your Ubuntu installation or a live CD.

if you can explain exactly what it is you want do it will be easier to help you

Graeme

« Last Edit: May 20, 2013, 07:28:51 pm by Emegra »

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My WIN XP won't start up at all so I can't get to the start menu to wipe it out from there. I tried Windows support but they only had instructions for people who could start up the OS and get to their start menu, which I can't.

You don't need to start up Windows to erase it or access and recover any files you still have on it, you can do that from your Ubuntu installation or a live CD.

if can you explain exactly what it is you want do it will be easier to help you

Graeme

I'm trying to totally dump the WIN XP since I don't use it and can't think of any reason why I would want to any time soon

I have a Ubuntu installation CD which is what I used to install it as I couldn't download it when I attempted to do that. When I tried to download I got the message that the download had worked but couldn't see any sign of the OS anywhere.

I don't need any files from WIN XP as I have all the files I need on Ubuntu. The photos can all be replaced as I uploaded some of them to Facebook and some to snapagogo

« Last Edit: May 20, 2013, 05:41:10 pm by hampshirelass »

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When you installed Ubuntu, what installation method did you select?(you may have already overwritten the Windows XP partition)Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal, then in the terminal enter (that is lower case L):

ok my advice would be to erase all partitions and reformat using gparted from the Ubuntu live CD you have, then re-installing Ubuntu from scratch on a clean drive. it's a relatively simple process but there can be pitfalls and i would hate to be the one to screw this up for you

However don't take my word for this, also I don't think I could talk you through it anyway so I would wait till Mark or someone more knowledgeable came on to advise you

good luck

Graeme

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When you installed Ubuntu, what installation method did you select?(you may have already overwritten the Windows XP partition)Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal, then in the terminal enter (that is lower case L):

So you have installed Ubuntu alongside Windows. XP which is still there.

As Emegra suggested, if you do not want to resurrect XP then the best course of action would be is to reinstall Ubuntu from a live diskbut this time select "Use entire disk" option (or along those lines) when prompted.

I just looked at those instructions and the only bit that puzzles me is this bit

"Before doing anything in this article, please make a backup of your important files, if not your entire hard drive. This is critical. I don't mean to scare you away from installing Ubuntu, I just want to make sure you're prepared in case something goes wrong."

Given that I don't want any of my Windows files and am replacing all the Ubunto files (any photos can be found again + I only have one document)...could I just take a deep breath and zap everything?

I'm happy to do that only wouldn't I still need the drivers for the printer (could download again if I have to)

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From what you tell us you dont have anything you want to save, if that's the case then you're good to go

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I'm happy to do that only wouldn't I still need the drivers for the printer (could download again if I have to)

All the drivers you need should be already installed in Ubuntu but it would be a good idea to test your hardware first while in the Live CD , if your hardware works in the Live session it will work upon installation and there will be no need to download any additional drivers.

Can you tell us the make/model of your printer ?

I'm not sure if I've explained that very well (I'm not very good at this) so if you're unsure please ask and I'll try to be clearer

Good luck

Graeme

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